April 2022 Tropical Cyclones Report

Summary

Five named storms were active globally during April, which was above the 1991-2020 mean of 4.2. However, only one of these reached tropical cyclone strength (74 mph), which was below normal. That storm, Super Typhoon Malakas, also became a major tropical cyclone (>111 mph). This one major tropical cyclone globally was near normal. The global accumulated cyclone energy (ACE: an integrated metric of the strength, frequency, and duration of tropical storms) was near normal for April. There have been 23 named storms globally so far in 2022, which is near normal. However, the global ACE is below normal for 2022 in part because the nine tropical cyclones for January to April is below normal.

Malakas was the first West Pacific named storm of 2022. It reached category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale but remained out to sea with minimal impacts. Shortly after Malakas, a second storm (Tropical Storm Megi) formed near the Philippines. Despite being only a tropical storm, it caused significant rainfall and flooding there. The West Pacific typhoon season is typically most active during May-October. The activity for April and January-April are both above normal despite the lack of storms in January-March. No tropical cyclones developed in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, which is typical.

The South Indian Ocean had two active storms during April including the remnants of Major Tropical Cyclone Halima. The other storm, Tropical Storm Jasmine was the sixth named storm to affect Madagascar in 2022. April was below normal for the South Indian Ocean by most metrics, but the 2021-2022 season to date (July-April) has been near normal.

No named storms were active in the Australian region in April, which has happened six other times since 1981. The Australian 2021-2022 season remains near normal by most metrics except ACE, which is the second lowest since 1981. The only storm in the Southwest Pacific was Tropical Storm Fili near New Caledonia. This activity was near normal, but the 2021-2022 season remains below normal by most metrics.

North Atlantic

No North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones occurred during April 2022.

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone April Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1851-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Aprils)	4th (tied with 38 other Aprils)	1 (1992, 2003, 2017)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Aprils)	1st (tied with 41 other Aprils)	0
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Aprils)	1st (tied with 41 other Aprils)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.2 (2 in 10 Aprils)	4th (tied with 38 other Aprils)	3.2 (2003)

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-April 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1851-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	6th (tied with 36 other seasons)	1 (11 seasons)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 40 other seasons)	1 (1908, 1938, 1955, 2016)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 41 other seasons)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.5 (5 in 10 seasons)	6th (tied with 36 other seasons)	6.5 (1955)

East Pacific

No East Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during April 2022.

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone April Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1949-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Aprils)	1st (tied with 41 other Aprils)	1 (1980)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Aprils)	1st (tied with 41 other Aprils)	0
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Aprils)	1st (tied with 41 other Aprils)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.0 (0 in 10 Aprils)	1st (tied with 41 other Aprils)	0.7 (1980)

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-April 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1949-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	4th (tied with 38 other seasons)	2 (1992)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	3rd (tied with 39 other seasons)	1 (1992, 2016)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 40 other seasons)	1 (1992)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.8 (8 in 10 seasons)	4th (tied with 38 other seasons)	13.9 (1992)

West Pacific

April 2022 West Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Malakas	4	April 7Apr 7-15	130 mph	939 mb
Megi	TS	April 10Apr 10	45 mph	999 mb

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone April Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1945-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	0.8 (8 in 10 Aprils)	2nd (tied with 6 other Aprils)	3 (1956, 1971, 1999)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	0.4 (4 in 10 Aprils)	2nd (tied with 13 other Aprils)	2 (1951, 1956, 1971, 1999)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.3 (3 in 10 Aprils)	1st (tied with 10 other Aprils)	1 (21 Aprils)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	17.0	7.4	7th	46.9 (1997)

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-April 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1945-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	1.8	12th (tied with 12 other seasons)	6 (1965)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	0.7 (7 in 10 seasons)	7th (tied with 18 other seasons)	3 (5 seasons)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.4 (4 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 16 other seasons)	2 (1953, 1956, 1957, 2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	17.0	13.2	12th	62.3 (1956)

North Indian

No North Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during April 2022.

North Indian Tropical Cyclone April Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Aprils)	8th (tied with 34 other Aprils)	1 (9 Aprils)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Aprils)	6th (tied with 36 other Aprils)	1 (6 Aprils)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Aprils)	4th (tied with 38 other Aprils)	1 (1991, 2006, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	1.5	8th (tied with 34 other Aprils)	17.6 (1991)

North Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-April 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	0.5 (5 in 10 seasons)	5th (tied with 8 other seasons)	2 (1991, 1994, 2006, 2019)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	6th (tied with 36 other seasons)	1 (6 seasons)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	4th (tied with 38 other seasons)	1 (1991, 2006, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.5	1.7	13th	18.4 (1991)

South Indian

April 2022 South Indian Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Halima	4	March 23-April 1Mar 23-Apr 1	135 mph†	938 mb†
Jasmine	TS	April 24Apr 24-27	60 mph	984 mb
†Value occurred in March

South Indian Tropical Cyclone April Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	1.1	3rd (tied with 13 other Aprils)	3 (1981, 2019)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.8 (8 in 10 Aprils)	27th (tied with 15 other Aprils)	2 (1996, 2015, 2018, 2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 Aprils)	19th (tied with 23 other Aprils)	1 (18 Aprils)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	2.2	11.9	29th	52.5 (2016)

South Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2021-April 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	9	10.1	28th (tied with 4 other seasons)	15 (1997)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	5	5.9	23rd (tied with 8 other seasons)	11 (2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	5	3.5	5th (tied with 1 other season)	9 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	88.8	93.3	23rd	186.9 (1994)

Australia

No Australia Tropical Cyclones occurred during April 2022.

Australia Tropical Cyclone April Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	1.6	36th (tied with 6 other Aprils)	4 (2000)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.9 (9 in 10 Aprils)	26th (tied with 16 other Aprils)	2 (12 Aprils)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.5 (5 in 10 Aprils)	12th (tied with 30 other Aprils)	2 (5 Aprils)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	10.5	36th (tied with 6 other Aprils)	38.9 (2000)

Australia Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2021-April 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	11	10.3	16th (tied with 7 other seasons)	19 (1999)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	4	4.8	21st (tied with 5 other seasons)	9 (1992, 1996)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	2.4	25th (tied with 12 other seasons)	6 (2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	21.6	59.5	40th	111.3 (1999)

Southwest Pacific

April 2022 Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Fili	TS	April 4Apr 4-8	60 mph	989 mb

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone April Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	0.7 (7 in 10 Aprils)	7th (tied with 17 other Aprils)	3 (1983, 1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.3 (3 in 10 Aprils)	14th (tied with 28 other Aprils)	3 (1983)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Aprils)	5th (tied with 37 other Aprils)	1 (1983, 1989, 1998, 2020)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	3.8	3.0	11th	30.9 (2020)

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2021-April 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1956-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	5	6.9	26th (tied with 8 other seasons)	17 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	3.7	27th (tied with 9 other seasons)	11 (1998)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	1.9	34th (tied with 8 other seasons)	6 (2003)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	17.1	50.3	34th	139.7 (1998)

Global

April 2022 Global Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Halima	4	March 23-April 1Mar 23-Apr 1	135 mph†	938 mb†
Fili	TS	April 4Apr 4-8	60 mph	989 mb
Malakas	4	April 7Apr 7-15	130 mph	939 mb
Megi	TS	April 10Apr 10	45 mph	999 mb
Jasmine	TS	April 24Apr 24-27	60 mph	984 mb
†Value occurred in March

Global Tropical Cyclone April Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	5	4.2	10th (tied with 10 other Aprils)	8 (1989)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	2.3	31st (tied with 8 other Aprils)	5 (1989)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	1.3	14th (tied with 17 other Aprils)	5 (1989)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	23.0	34.6	26th	80.0 (1989)

Global Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-April 2022

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2022 Rank*	1972-2022 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	23	21.6	18th (tied with 3 other seasons)	31 (1986)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	9	11.8	35th (tied with 4 other seasons)	18 (1994)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	6	6.5	17th (tied with 5 other seasons)	12 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	137.9	180.6	30th	306.4 (1994)

Data Description

The data in this report are derived from NCEI's IBTrACS dataset (Knapp et al. 2010; Schreck et al. 2014). IBTrACS tropical cyclone track and intensity data from agencies and sources around the globe. In this report, data from NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) are used for the North Atlantic and East Pacific. The other basin's use data from the U.S. Military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).

Historical values use the "best track" data that have been analyzed by forecasters after the season using all available data. Operational procedures and observing systems have changed with time and between regions, which makes these data heterogeneous. Intensity data are generally the most reliable since the early 1970s in the Atlantic (Landsea and Franklin 2013) and since the mid-1980s in other regions (Chu et al. 2002). The number of short-lived storms (≤2 days) has also increased since around 2000 due to improvements in observations and analysis techniques (Landsea et al. 2010).

Values for the current year are provisional values from the operational forecast advisories. IBTrACS obtains these from NCEP's TC Vitals, the NCAR Tropical Cyclone Guidance Project, and NHC provisional data. These values are subject to change during the post-season best track analysis. They also only include 6-hourly storm fixes, which means they may miss special advisories at landfall, peak intensity, etc.

The tropical cyclone seasons in the Southern Hemisphere begin in July and end in June, while the Northern Hemisphere seasons are counted from January to December. Storms are counted in all basins, months, and years in which they occur, which means some storms may appear more than once. However, the global totals only include each storm one time.

References

• Chu, J.-H., C. R. Sampson, A. S. Levine, and E. Fukada, 2002: The joint typhoon warning center tropical cyclone best-tracks, 1945–2000. Naval Research Laboratory, Reference Number NRL/MR/7540-02-16, 22 pp., https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/best-tracks/tc-bt-report.html.
• Knapp, K. R., M. C. Kruk, D. H. Levinson, H. J. Diamond, and C. J. Neumann, 2010: The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91, 363–376, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2755.1.
• Landsea, C. W., and J. L. Franklin, 2013: Atlantic Hurricane database uncertainty and presentation of a new database format. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 3576–3592, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-12-00254.1.
• ——, G. A. Vecchi, L. Bengtsson, and T. R. Knutson, 2010: Impact of duration thresholds on Atlantic tropical cyclone counts. J. Climate, 23, 2508–2519, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JCLI3034.1.
• Schreck, C. J., K. R. Knapp, and J. P. Kossin, 2014: The Impact of Best Track Discrepancies on Global Tropical Cyclone Climatologies using IBTrACS. Mon. Wea. Rev., 142, 3881–3899, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-14-00021.1.